Alexandria Township

Alexandria, Minnesota 56308

Minutes of the meeting of 8-7-2006

A regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors of Alexandria Township was held on the 7^th Day of August 2006 at the Alexandria Township Conference Room, 610 Fillmore Street.

ROLL CALL: Supervisors present were Louis Ross, Bryon Alstead, Jim Casper, Joel Dahlheimer, and Roger Thalman. Also present were Gregg Raisanen, Clerk, and Mona Billmark, Treasurer. As said members formed a quorum and the meeting was called to order by Chairman Thalman at 7:30 PM.

Ross, seconded by Casper, made a motion to adopt the agenda with discussion about LAR under old business. Motion carried unanimously.

Alstead, seconded by Ross, made a motion to approve the minutes of the July 17, 2006 regular board meeting as written. Motion carried unanimously.

Ross, seconded by Dahlheimer, made a motion to authorize payment of claims 6228-6246 in the amount of $32,183.74, claim 6247 in the amount of $77,043.10, and net payroll of $3,253.22 for a total of $112,480.06 and to authorize the transfer of $91,000.00 from the savings into the checking account. Motion carried unanimously. Clerk Raisanen reported that a 15% retainage was made to the gravel contract upon recommendation from Engineer Kuhn. Engineer Kuhn reported that two of the gravel samples did not meet MNDOT specification for class 5 therefore he recommended that a 15% reduction in the amount of the contract. Alden Just reported that the gravel pile was sampled on the first day that gravel was being obtained and that a representative of WSN notified him the next day that the gravel met specifications. He continued to use the same gravel for the rest of the contract and wasn’t notified until two week after he finished the job that the other two samples did not meet specs. Engineer Kuhn reported that it is possible that the gravel did not meet specs as a result of the how the loader operator loaded the trucks from the gravel pile. He also indicated that this gravel was mixed with gravel already on the road surface so therefore would not impact the road surface significantly. Ross, seconded by Dahlheimer, made a motion to reduce the retainage from 15% to 1% on the gravel contract amount and recommended that WSN reimburse Alden Just Road Maintenance for ½ of the amount because of the lateness of the testing results. Motion for: Ross, Alstead, Casper, and Dahlheimer. Motion against: Thalman. Motion carried.

ENGIEER’S REPORT: Engineer Kuhn reported that he had contacted Jay Paulson from the Wildflower Estates subdivision who indicated that he would repair the catch basin along the road and dig out the retention pond. The board directed Clerk Raisanen to write a letter to confirm this and to notify him that if the work is not done by the end of August, the township will contract the work and bill him for the contracted services.

Engineer Kuhn presented two written quotes for the work on the catch basin at the intersection of Lisa Ave. and the Hwy. 29-frontage rd. Mark Lee quoted $9,500 and Zacker Excavation quoted $3,240.00. Ross, seconded by Casper, made a motion to accept the quote by Zacker Excavation for the work on the catch basin at the intersection of Lisa Ave. and the Hwy. 29-frontage rd. in the amount of $3,240.00. Motion carried unanimously.

Engineer Kuhn reported that an individual has purchased a tax-forfeited lot located along Neewana Beach Rd., which has a wetland, located on and is planning on building a residence on the property. This property is the same property where the township obtained a drainage easement and installed a drainage line because it was flooding Neewana Beach Rd in the past. The property was not assessed during the road assessment hearing when the road was paved because it was determined that the lot was un-buildable. The board directed Clerk Raisanen to send a letter to the County Commissioners notifying them that the Alexandria Township Board of Supervisors is against any building on this lot if it results in any additional fill be used on the lot since it will result in drainage issues in the area.

The board discussed the engineering contract with WSN, which expired in July. Clerk Raisanen will prepare a new contract for the board’s consideration at the next meeting with a proposed new fee schedule.

OLD BUSINESS: The board continued discussion of the future of LAR. Supervisor Ross reported that District 206 has proposed withdrawing support of LAR over the next 5 years, which would result in a reduction of approximately $50,000 in revenue in the future. Ross, seconded by Dahlheimer, made a motion to support additional revenue to LAR next year to help make up the difference in funding as a result of reduction of funding from district 206. Motion carried unanimously.

NEW BUSINESS: Clerk Raisanen reported that he had received a blacktop petition from the residents located on Southside Drive. He will determine the adequacy of the petition and present it to the board for their consideration at a future meeting.

The board discussed future planning and zoning. The zoning sub-committee is in the process of reviewing Douglas County’s ordinances for future board consideration.

Clerk Raisanen provided the following election judges who received training for the board’s consideration for the upcoming primary election: Margaret Movald, Darlene O’Brien, Verla Schwendemann, Marie Mertin, David Falconer, Larry Jepsen, Patricia Puyer, Martin Andrade, Donna Kolstead. Ross, seconded by Alstead, made a motion to appoint the individuals provided by Clerk Raisanen as election judges and to appoint Darlene O’Brien as head election judge for the 2006 primary election. Motion carried unanimously.

Clerk Raisanen reported that the contract with Jim Howard for assessment services has expired and that Mr. Howard would be willing to do the same services at the same price. The board directed Clerk Raisanen to prepare a contract for their consideration at the next meeting.

The board discussed issues before the Douglas County Planning and Zoning and there were no issues of concern.

Being no further business Ross, seconded by Casper, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Meeting adjourned at 9:15 PM.

Respectfully Submitted.....

Gregg Raisanen, Clerk

Approved this _____ day of _________, 2006

Roger Thalman, Chairman